Bitter Irony
by Dark Opal
Summary: Sequel to 'Rubies and Opals'. About half a year has passed since Ron was changed into a girl by his brothers and fell in love with Draco Malfoy. He still loves him, but Draco loves Veronica, Ron as a girl. What will happen?
1. Thoughts

Since so many (okay, a few) people asked for a sequel… I decided to write one! Um, it's a sequel to my R/D slash fanfic, 'Rubies and Opals'. If you haven't read it, you should, cuz then this sequel might be just a BIT confusing. Oh heck I'll summarize.

In Rubies and Opals Ron not so accidentally gets turned into a girl by Fred and George. He continues on in school posing under the name Veronica and pretends that he's Ron's (in other words, his) sister. He falls in love with Draco; Draco falls in love with him. In my fic, I wrote two endings: one of them is Ron turning back and Draco knowing all along that Veronica was Ron so they kiss, and the other one's about Ron turning back and Draco not knowing. In other words, his beloved Veronica has GONE. My writing style may (and hopefully) have changed from before, so… yeah *smiles weakly*. Also, I uh… changed the story a little in this sequel. This fanfic written by Rachel, of Dark Opal!!! ^^

Words in _italic_ are thoughts and sometimes flashbacks. Not really that confusing, providing that fanfiction.net doesn't decide to MESS THINGS UP LIKE THEY ALWAYS DO!!!

Disclaimer: Veronica and uh... maybe a few other characters and the PLOT are MINE! MINE, MINE, MINE! Muahahaha!

Draco and Ron: Would you just get one with the story already?

Rachel: *coughs* Oh. Yes. Right.

Draco sat on the edge of his bed. He stared at a framed photograph on his bed stand. In it, a ruby red haired girl grinned cheesily at him then waved. His eyes shifted to the golden haired boy next to her, his arm around her hip. The boy in the picture smirked, his expression saying 'I am the luckiest guy in the world. And don't I know it.'

Draco looked at the photo longingly.

"Veronica" he murmured. How long had it been? A week? A few months? A year?

_A few months_, he thought firmly. He remembered Harry's birthday going by a month ago. It had practically been the 'main attraction' of the month.

_Half a year_, he corrected himself. He looked at the photo again, the memory of their last night playing in his mind. 

The Yule Ball. Them being trapped under mistletoe and being forced to kiss in front of the whole school. Hesitation. Then…

Draco sighed.

The kiss.

Veronica was one hell of a good kisser.

The Slytherin frowned as the memory of the rest of the night flooded into his mind.

Veronica placed her hands on Draco's shoulders and shoved. He was pushed away sharply, confused and hurt.

_"I-I-uh… I gotta go!" the girl yelled then high-tailed it out of the Hall._

_Draco watched her leave._

He didn't understand it. Didn't understand it. At. All. And cursed himself for it.

What had gone wrong?

Why had he simply stood there? Watched her run away?

Away… from him?

Draco sighed again. So many questions. So little answers.

Where had she gone?

Why had she left?

Was she going to return?

Did she remember him?

Why didn't she write? She knew how to get to him, just owl a letter to Draco Malfoy.

Draco remembered the day after the Ball. He had given a comb that he had originally intended to give to Veronica to her brother, Ron, and asked him to give it to his sister as a final present from the Slytherin.

He smiled wryly. Ron. Veronica. Both so similar. If it hadn't been for her brother being called Ron, he would have nicknamed her Ron. Instead he stuck with the name Veronica.

_Draco hesitated then plunged his hand into his pocket. He pulled out something green and held it out to Ron._

_"Can you give this to her?" he asked. Ron looked at the object. It was a jade green comb, thin and delicate with a silver snake curling around the handle. Ron could hear Harry and Hermione gasp. It looked like a very expensive comb. Ron took it, feeling tears of sadness well up in his eyes. He looked at Draco, his angelic hair that he would never feel again, his forever cold, blue-gray eyes. He took the comb with a trembling hand._

_"I'm sure she'll love it" Ron said softly, fingering the cold, metal snake softly. As he turned he thought he heard someone whisper his name._

_Veronica?_

_No. She's gone._

_He walked on._

_If he had stayed a little longer he would have noticed the tears that sprang to Ron's eyes._

Draco got off his bed and walked quietly out of his room.

"Did you hear of that Quidditch match last night?" Hermione asked.

"Of course I did! That was a good game," Harry said enthusiastically. Ron smiled slightly. His best friend, the Quidditch maniac. He sighed softly under his breath. Hermione noticed first.

"Ron? Is something bothering you?" she asked, concerned. Ron looked up, startled then grinned.

"Of course nothing's wrong! How could anything be wrong?" he chirruped a little too brightly. Hermione lowered her eyelids.

"What? Nothing's wrong!" he said, his smile wavering.

"Your smile's disappearing" Harry said.

"It is not"

"Something's bothering you Ron" Hermione said.

"No!"

"Yes there is"

"There ISN'T!" Ron yelled.

"Hermione, I think I just figured out what's bothering him," Harry said.

"What?"

"You are"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Harry, be serious"

"I AM being serious!" Harry protested, but grinned and kept silent.

"Why do you think something's wrong?" Ron asked.

"You're too quiet"

Ron wondered whether to feel insulted.

"You can tell us. We're your friends" Hermione said.

"And your everyday busy-bodies"

"Shhh, Harry!"

Ron put his hand in his pocket. He felt something cold and ran his fingers over it.

"Nothing's wrong," he said firmly. Hermione sighed.

"Fine, fine, okay," she said. Ron glanced at her face, sighed and looked at his feet. 

_It's not like they'd understand if I told them_, he thought glumly, and ran his fingers over the metallic object in his pocket again.

Suddenly something hit him on the left shoulder. He staggered back a few steps then, losing his balance, fell onto the floor.

"Watch where you're go..." Ron trailed off near the middle of his sentence.

"Should have known it was you. Why don't you try walking like a HUMAN and not like a rhino?" Draco said angrily, rubbing his right shoulder. "There ARE people trying to walk along this corridor as well you know. I'd bet they'd like to be able to walk safely without the danger of YOU banging them over. Watch where you're going, you're not blind like Potter so you have no excuse."

The Slytherin was considerably startled by the look of hurt on the redhead's face. Thrown off, he walked quickly away.

"Need a hand?" Harry quipped, offering a hand, while throwing a dirty scowl in Draco's direction. If Ron hadn't been so upset he would have laughed at the comical result of the half-scowl-half-smile on his best friend's face.

"Aha" Hermione said.

"Correct me if I'm wrong Hermione, but that 'aha' was supposed to mean 'I got it'. You're not saying it right, the correct word is 'eureka', followed by an exclamation mark and a goofy grin, whereupon you run down a street n-" Harry blushed red and corrected himself quickly, "Run down a street squawking like a deranged chicken."

"Stop acting like an idiot Harry."

"I'm a kid with a high sugar level" Harry grinned.

"You're a nutty teen"

"Hermione!" Harry looked shocked. "I am not a teen! Teens are OLD!"

"You are sixteen. Six-TEEN."

"Well you didn't have to remind me!" Harry said and pouted. Hermione sighed. Whatever had possessed her to agree to be his girlfriend a few months ago was going to PAY. And whatever possessed her to fall in love with him was SO going to die.

"But you ARE" she said, in the tone of a parent patiently explaining to his or her child why it was not be a good idea to stick it's finger in an electrical socket.

"You're so mean 'Mione! You didn't have to tell me! Now I'm going to cry!" Harry said in a babyish tone then ducked as Hermione swiped at him.

"WAHHHHHHH! Killer girlfriend!" he wailed, shrieking in mock terror and laughing manically as he ran down the corridor as fast as he could, Hermione finally giving up on the 'mature sixteen year old' act and chasing after him, giggling. As Harry turned a corner he glanced back at Ron, grinned and waved a little. Ron smiled weakly. He could always depend on Harry for a diversion to get away. He took his hand out of his pocket and stared at it. Blood dribbled out of a small cut on his index finger, from where he had gripped the comb -Draco's present- too hard. He took out the delicate object gently. And stared at the silver snake, wound tightly around the comb's handle, frozen, hissing and baring its teeth at the Gryffindor.

A dark red droplet of his blood dripped off the snake's fangs, where he had pricked his finger.

The air breezed through his hair gently. Standing up on the Astronomy Tower Ron looked down on Hogwarts, on the world, and smiled. He loved the Astronomy Tower. It had become one of his favorite spots, partly because he could have a view of everything around the castle and mostly because nearly all of the times he visited the Tower there was no one there -Ron's smiled grew wider- which meant that he could stand there for hours in silence, having time to think his own thoughts for once. Not even Harry or Hermione knew where he went when he 'disappeared'. Not that they cared too much about it. 

_More time for a snog session_, Ron thought and instantly felt a pain in his heart. Sometimes it was so difficult to remember that he was Harry's best friend, that he wanted the best for his friend, that he didn't hate him for being the luckiest teenager in the world. Rich, famous, loved. When the children had returned to their families for the Christmas holidays, four days after the Yule Ball Harry had accompanied him back to his family to stay. The two boys had stood in front of the door and pressed the doorbell. Ron's mother, Mrs. Weasley, had flung open the door and given Harry a warm hug then ushered him inside, only remembering a minute later that her youngest son was still waiting outside for her to greet him. Ron clenched his fists. It was unfair. What had Harry done to be so loved? Nothing. People always said he had survived Voldemort's attack when he was a baby; that wasn't true. If not for his mother, he would have died, died a nobody.

_It's not his fault_, Ron reminded himself. _Not his fault that he's so famous, rich, loved. He never asked to be._

But the jealousy stayed.

He had once had someone who had loved him too, loved him for himself, not simply because they were related.

Ron grinned wryly. _Well, maybe not for myself exactly._

_Just because we're related._ That was how he felt of his parents. They only loved him because he was their son, because they had to otherwise it wouldn't be right. They had never really wanted him, never wanted another son.

_They wanted a daughter. Instead they got me. Another son._

They had never wanted him. He was the odd one out.

_Charlie's strong and charming. Bill was Head Boy. Percy was Prefect. Fred and George are so funny that anything they do makes mom and dad laugh. Ginny... Ginny's that sweet little girl they always wanted._

Ron... Ron was their ordinary child.

It was no wonder he felt like the best thing in the world that could have happened, happened when someone had finally loved him. And not because he was really smart, funny, sweet or good-looking. 

It was no wonder he had cried himself to sleep that night. The night of their last kiss, the night when he changed back into his real self. The last night that he 'knew' his boyfriend.

_Boyfriend. Gawd._

Ron looked up at the starry sky.

"Draco" he murmured softly. He held the jade comb clenched gently in his palm, now he opened his hand and looked at it again. The perfect, delicate silver on smooth liquid green. It was so like him.

The redhead ran his fingers over the snake fondly, tracing out its meandering pattern, feeling its thinness and stopping when his fingers reached the head.

The fangs, dark brown with dried blood. Ron's dried blood.

Ron stared sadly at the long, sharp teeth.

Even perfection had a sting.

_It seems almost symbolic. Snakes are generally peaceful creatures around others they know or love. Anyone else... they bite._

"Anyone else..." Ron murmured. He felt tears pool in his eyes. For the millionth time he cursed himself for being who he was, what he was. A boy. Teen. Male.

It was perfectly fine for him to like Draco as a girl, but as a boy?

It would be wrong.

He didn't know what was worse, still liking Draco even as a male, or the fact that Draco didn't know who he was. Who Veronica really was.

Oh, he had tried to tell the Slytherin, more than a couple of times. But every time he wanted to, every time he was in front of the Slytherin dormitories, something stopped him and he walked back quickly from where he came.

_Why do I always stop?_ Ron wondered. _Why, when I'm so close?_

The answer came instantly.

_Because he wouldn't understand. Because he would find me disgusting. Because it's wrong. Because... because I'm always too scared._

Ron leaned forward on the rails of the Astronomy Tower and closed his eyes.

_I just want someone who I can depend on. Someone who can also depend on me. Someone who needs me, someone I need. It's not like I'm asking for much, I'm not asking for the person to love me, not in the girlfriend-boyfriend sense._

He had once had Harry. Harry had once had him. They were inseparable, best friends to the end. Oh sure, they were still best friends. But now Harry had Hermione. He didn't need Ron as much any more. He hung around with Hermione, did practically whatever Hermione wanted.

_Except study_. Ron smiled slightly. _Some things never change_.

Ron looked down to the Quidditch pitch, where two lovers stood under a tree and kissed, unaware that someone was watching.

_I just want someone in my life_.

_Why did he look so upset?_

It was a puzzling question. 

_He never used to care before._

Draco felt a bit upset. Although it was in his nature to make people feel bad and scorn them, he never really meant to hurt them. It was just the way he was. It wasn't that he held grudges, or hated anyone in particular, hated them so much that he would want to see them cry.

Well, maybe with the exception of Harry.

And all Mudbloods.

And Squibs.

And Muggles.

But other than that, no one.

Oh, and the Weasleys, of course. 

He had good reasons for not liking the people that fit into that list. 

Harry had refused him in the first year. Had refused him and decided to stick with the Mudblood and the Weasley. That still stung. It was like he wasn't good enough. Plus, now he was going out with Granger, the Mudblood.

_Oh well. I don't care. Let him have his own little gang._

Mudbloods were freaks. Impossible for them to do magic, what with their non-magical blood inherited from their parents... yet they could. 

Squibs were worse than Mudbloods. Even with magical blood coursing through their veins they couldn't do magic. Either that, or they were complete failures at it.

_No wonder Granger and Longbottom are always helping each other in Potions. More like the Mudblood helping the Squib in Potions, Longbottom is _useless.

Muggles were stupid, so stupid that they couldn't even perform one simple spell. 

_Like those Doorseys Potter lives with_, Draco thought, getting the name wrong. The Dursleys were the worst type of Muggle, in Draco's opinion. At least some Muggles acknowledged and envied the wizarding world.

The Weasleys were so poor they were a humiliation to the wizarding world.

_You would think that being a magical family they would get better jobs. And all those kids? What's the point?_

Draco could never understand the reason of having such a large family. 

Draco was the descendant of a long line of Malfoys. The next generation. The Malfoy bloodline could be traced back to medieval times, when one of the Malfoys, Richard Malfoy had been king, and so had his son after him and so on until they were overthrown. The whole line had consisted of only child males. A Malfoy would find himself a wife, have one son, and that would be that. There was no such thing as having more than one child, as, it seemed, the firstborn was always male. Draco was proud to know the blood of kings ran through him, though it irked him somewhat that the first Malfoy king shared the same name as one of the Weasleys.

The Weasleys...

Veronica was a Weasley. Yet she seemed... different from them. Special somehow.

Maybe it was because Draco could be so open with her. He could talk about anything. He never had that sort of feeling around any other girls.

_It's like she's a guy, and it's all just casual guy-talk. She doesn't get all feminine and annoying if we're in trouble or in danger. If I said, "There's a Dementor in the school" she'd say "Let's go to a room and hide. Dumbledore will take care of it". Any other girl would lose her head and start shrieking and sobbing._

He admired that sort of common sense in a girl. He only knew of two girls in Hogwarts that were like that, and they were Veronica and Hermione.

_Where did she go?_

Did she change schools?

_What is she doing right now?_

Probably smiling that laughing smile at someone, continuing her life. She's so lucky, being so friendly and sociable.

_Does she remember me?_

Or is she seeing someone else? Forgotten everything?

_No way. She's not so... so cheap._

Then why did she leave?

It wasn't fair. That someone that he cared so much about was taken away from him. Draco didn't believe that she had left of her own free will. He believed that someone had forced her to leave.

_It's so unfair, that someone you love so much is taken away from you._

Being brought up mainly by Lucius Malfoy, one of the most arrogant and influential men in the wizarding world Draco absorbed some of his traits. Just like his father, he was arrogant, stubborn and cold. Being the only child in the family he was often very lonely, living in a large mansion, most of the time on his own, this meaning that he never really learned the social skills other people his age did, long ago. Thus, the lack of real friends. It was only thanks to his mother that he actually KNEW people at all. She had been the one who had insisted that being in a school, an actual school with real people would be tons better for Draco's life than having him tutored, as Lucius wanted. She told him stories of what was happening in the outside world, told him of people she met and knew.

It was Lucius to blame that Draco hardly knew anyone outside his home. As a child he was very active and loved to run around, jump and scream with joy and giddiness until his legs were forced to give way and he would fall down, laughing, and even then he wouldn't stop playing until he was so tired he would fall asleep on the ground where he was. It was amazing that he could enjoy himself so much without friends. Unfortunately, one winter he had gone sledding by himself. After three hours he had curled himself into a little ball and fallen asleep at the foot of the hill, next to his sled. When his parents didn't see him they immediately sent out a search party. 

Two more hours later they had found him, shivering in his sleep and tinged blue. He had almost died of pneumonia. From then on Lucius had ordered that Draco would never go out of the mansion's gates again, fearful that, if Draco died, he would have to have another child. His son was upset and cried for hours non-stop, sad that he would never see the real outside world again. In the end, Lucius compromised: whatever Draco wanted, he would get. To a child who had never known anyone except his own family and servants, wasn't that one of the best things he could ever have in the world? Wasn't an everlasting pile of toys much better than playing with nothing?

Draco had been a very sheltered child in his youth, the baby bird that had been caged up and never let go free.

Was it really his fault that no one liked him?

That was another reason he disliked Harry. He had only been trying to make friends. He had been rejected. Which hurt. Deeply.

That was probably a reason why he loved Veronica so much. Because she loved him, not because he was 'gorgeous', as some other Slytherin girls described him, or because he was rich. It was because he was who he was. Draco had found that he liked himself better when he was with her. Somehow she managed to repel the 'Lucius' side of him and bring out the 'Narcissa' side, gentle, loving, caring and understanding.

_I miss her so much._

Draco continued his ascent up the stairs.

Ron whirled around at the sound of footsteps tapping up the stairs.

"Who is it?" he called. The sound of footsteps halted momentarily then continued, slower. Ron stared at the darkness of the stairs, trying to make out who it was.

_It better not be Trelawney. I really don't need to know a hundred more ways that Harry will die._

The moonlight shone on pale silver-blond hair and Ron held his breath.

_Oh no... not now..._

Draco looked at Ron and blinked.

"What're you doing here?" he demanded.

Ron was speechless.

_Draco never came up here before! Why now?_

"Cat got your tongue?" Draco sneered.

"I could ask you the same question. Why are you up here?"

Draco hesitated then replied. "I always come up here, if you must know"

"What? No you don't" Ron said, voicing his thoughts. Draco glared at him.

"You haven't answered my question"

"I'M the one who's always up here!" Ron said.

Draco looked sarcastic. "You're lying"

"So are you" Ron shot back. He couldn't help noticing how beautiful Draco looked in moonlight, in the dark. His hair shone and looked even paler, as did his skin.

_Like an angel._

"What?" Ron asked, suddenly realizing that Draco had just spoken. Draco sighed, exasperated.

"I said, when are you here?" he asked in an irritated tone of voice.

"At night, when else?" Ron asked.

Draco smirked. "I thought so. I'm here in the day"

Despite himself Ron snorted. "What's the point of going to the Astronomy Tower in the day?"

Draco narrowed his eyes. "What's the point of going to the Tower at night?" he asked, guardedly.

Ron realized he had just insulted him. Trying to think of something to say (and failing), he looked up into the night sky. 

"I like to look at the stars and the moon" he said simply.

"And Uranus, I suppose?" Draco mocked, remembering the Astrology lesson they had in the fourth year. Ron flushed.

"I didn't mean it that way!" he protested.

"Sure you didn't" Draco said lazily, standing next to Ron. Ron trembled with the nearness of the boy. He wanted so much to reach out and touch him, run his fingers through his hair like he had done before…

_No. It's wrong._

Draco didn't notice the look of anguish on Ron's face. He breathed deeply and exhaled gently.

"It's beautiful at night," he said softly.

_It's not the only thing._ "Yeah. Why do you think I always come at night?" Ron asked. Draco leaned his forearms onto the railing.

"You know, it's really funny how people always think night is the only time when the world is beautiful"

"What do you mean?"

"Well people seem to somehow find anything that they hardly see as beautiful. Think about it. At night people mostly sleep, right? Night's beautiful to them because it's almost like something… rare. Everyone's awake during the day, so there's no beauty in it. Take it as someone seeing a… a dragon, for the first time."

Draco… 

Ron wondered if it had just been coincidence that Draco had chosen to use dragon as an example, dragon being the meaning of his name in Latin.

Like seeing a dragon for the first time. You mean like seeing a person's true colors for the first time?

_You're always so obnoxious. That's just a cover, isn't it? You didn't have to hide yourself with Veronica. You don't have to hide yourself with me._

_How did you really feel about Veronica? About me?_

"I see your point… what do you find so great about the day?"

"How the clouds turn pinkish blue at dawn and dusk. How everything's so colorful, like how the grass looks so green, the water such a sparkling blue… and then on some days it's blue-green. And the sky is always the same baby blue in sunlight."

"I never thought of that before" Ron said, thrumming his fingers rapidly on the railing to try and stop the twitching. It was almost too much to bear. For him to be so close and so far at the same time…

I can just… reach… 

Draco jumped, startled, at Ron's yell of frustration.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Ron shouted.

"Nothing…" he repeated. He turned to look at the blonde straight in the eyes.

I'm going to ask him. 

"Draco" he said firmly. If Draco felt a little surprised at Ron calling him by his first name he didn't show it.

"Did…" Ron faltered and reddened slightly. "Did…do you like Veronica?"

_What an understatement_, Draco thought. "You want to know the truth?"

"Yes" was Ron's reply.

"She was like… she meant the world to me. When she went away… that was agony. At least if I knew where she was, how she was doing… if she still cared for me… it wouldn't be so bad.

Ron wanted to scream. __

_I'm right here!_ He shouted. _Right in front of you… don't you recognize me… I _am _Veronica, can't you see…_

"She still cares. Cares a lot. More than you'd ever know" he said instead. Draco looked startled then flushed slightly, embarrassed at forgetting.

"That's right, she's your sister, isn't she?"

No! She's me! 

"Second youngest."

"Where's she now?" Draco asked softly.

Ron wanted so badly to shout 'Right here!'

"Uh… visiting our grandmother, I think. She's uh… very sick. V- Ronnie's taking care of her" Ron said, quickly making up a nickname, hoping that Draco would ask about it. He did.

"Ronnie?" he frowned "is that what you call her?"

"Yeah"

"Isn't that rather similar to your name?"

Ron rejoiced. "Yeah"

"Why? Doesn't it annoy you that, with one added syllable to your name, you have a girl's name?"

"No. Not really"

"Oh" Draco looked like he was thinking of something.

C'mon, ask me, please… 

"Well. It's late. Been… nice, talking to you. Maybe one day we could meet here and talk again?"

Damn! 

"Uh, yeah. Sure. 'Night" Ron said weakly as he watched the Slytherin descend down the stairs, away from him, back to his room.

So, how was that for the first chapter? No, Draco's not thick… he'll catch on soon enough. I'm just wondering whether he should be horrified or happy when he finds out. And I'm wondering how much angst Ron can take… if I make Draco reject him… heheheh =)


	2. Transfiguration

This fanfic is set in Harry's 6th year. Just had to say that, cuz I was getting confused myself ^^. For everyone to know, just like in Rubies and Opals, I will keep referring to Ron as a 'him', even if he's in 'girl mode'. Fred and George are still here because I WANT THEM TO BE. Don't tell me they should be out doing their joke shop thing. I say they are in this fanfic so THEY ARE IN THIS FANFIC.

Disclaimer: All characters are J.K Rowling's.

_Damn, damn, damn!_

Ron cursed himself as he stalked back to his room. 

_He was so damn close!_ He thought. _I could have touched him! Urgh… why didn't I just SAY something? He likes me… well, Veronica… but does that really make a difference? I mean, I'm Veronica… so why the hell was I so scared?_

_Oh gawd… this was way easier when I was female._

Ron got into his bed and carefully took the comb out of his pocket. He placed it into the top drawer of his bedside table gently then went to sleep.

"Is it just me, or was Weasley acting weird?" Draco wondered aloud.

"Weasley? Which one? They're all weird. Why do you ask?" Crabbe answered. 

"I wasn't talking to you!" Draco flared. "Geez, can't a person think in PEACE around here? No, don't answer that!" he said hotly, seeing Crabbe open his mouth. He stormed to his room and slammed the door moodily.

That moron. Can't believe I HAVE to be his 'friend', just because father says so. I don't know why he likes the Crabbes so much. Mother doesn't like them, I don't like them… I hate them all, so stupid, they're all brawn and no brains…

With a frustrated sigh Draco fell back onto his soft bed and stared at the ceiling. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, took in a deep breath them opened them, feeling just a bit calmer. He got up and opened his cupboard to find his pajamas. He then stripped and changed clothes. He lay on the bed again and closed his eyes, trying to go to sleep. 

Half an hour later he groaned in aggravation.

"I am never going to go to sleep… okay, fine, something's wrong, what's wrong?" he asked himself. His brain responded instantly: Ron.

Draco rolled onto his back so he could see the pitch-black ceiling.

"What is up with Weasley anyway?" he wondered. He remembered the last words he said to the redhead and the look he received for it. Sad, frustrated, angry, helpless…

_Why would Weasley give me a look like that?_ he wondered. _Come to think of it, Weasley has been giving me a lot of weird looks. Like every time we pass in a corridor he looks at me and he has this weird expression where he's one third smiling hopefully one third frowning one third crying. What is up with that?_

_And then in the Astronomy Tower he kept looking at me…_

"Ugh. No. That is completely disgusting. I did not think that. He was not staring at me," he said to himself.

_Well then if he wasn't but I thought he was then I must have imagined it… why the hell would I imagine something like that?_

_Oh gawd… so does that mean that I…_

_Even more disgusting._

Yet there was a nagging feeling in his head, that there was something about Ron that attracted him. Something that reminded him of something else…

_I am NOT thinking this. I am not attracted to Weasley. Weasley is an idiot. We had a friendly talk, that's all. I do not like him. I like his sister. I am going to sleep. Now._

Draco lay awake staring at the ceiling until dawn.

THUMP.

Ron was (rather rudely) awakened from his sleep by two pairs of arms grabbing him by his wrists and ankles and dumping him onto the floor. He moaned, his tailbone tingling in pain, and opened his eyes. Four large, wide sapphire eyes stared at him.

"WARGH!" he yelled and propelled himself backwards half a meter. Fred and George looked at him, amused.

"Had a good night then?" George asked. Ron stood up slowly.

"Until you chucked me onto the floor. Now my butt hurts. Thank you ever so"

"Our pleasure" the twins replied cheekily in unison. Ron sighed and walked to the bathroom to wash up. When he returned holding his toothbrush the twins were sitting on the bed. They looked up and smiled angelically at their little brother. Ron moaned.

"Okay, WHAT did you two do?" he asked.

"Who? Us? Nothing!"

Ron crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Fred ducked.

"Argh! No! Save me George!" he yelled.

"It's impossible! NO one can survive… the raised eyebrow of doom!" George hollered, taking his twin's lead. Ron threw his toothbrush at him.

"Ow! Fred! He threw a toothbrush at me!" George wailed in a childish voice.

"Shame on you, hurling toilet accessories at your sibling!" Fred said, wagging his finger. Ron smiled.

"You guys aren't going to leave if I just ask nicely, are you?" he asked. They grinned. Ron sighed and sat down on the bed next to them.

"Okay, what is it?" he asked. George waved a flask in front of his face.

"Guess what we discovered!" he said. Ron looked skeptically at it.

"A new shade of pink?" he asked.

"No, doofus! Remember that cupcake you ate, a while ago?" Fred asked. Ron's heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah… what about it…" he asked carefully.

"Well, you know how that thing turned you into a girl? We finally found out exactly what was in it… so here the potion is!"

Ron stared at the bubbly pink liquid.

"It looks like soap"

"Yeah, but it works! AND it's better than last time! We stabilized it, a bit. You drink it and you get this extra DNA strand that can be activated by one word… You can change into a girl at will! Wouldn't that be great for the joke shop? It'll be a huge hit!" Fred said happily.

Ron looked at it.

_You can change into a girl at will…_

"So… why bring it to me?" he asked casually. Fred and George smiled sheepishly.

"Well, you see…"

"We tested it…"

"On a frog…"

"It worked fine, mind you…"

"But…"

"You need a human to test it" Ron said. The twins grinned happily.

"Bingo!"

"Why come to me though?"

"Well, you know… you've been through it before…"

"That doesn't mean I want to risk my life! What if the stuff kills me?"

"Well, we'll have one less sibling for one thing…"

"But it won't kill you! Animals and humans are about the same… kinda… you won't die, promise!" Fred said.

"If you start to choke, gag, vomit, turn orange or start spewing toadstools we'll go to Pomfrey for help" George added helpfully.

"How reassuring" Ron said dryly.

"C'mon Ron, just drink it… please?"

Ron looked dubiously at the liquid.

_If it works that would be terrific… but what if there's some sort of side effect? What if I die? I don't want to die!_

"Pwease Wonnie? Pwetty pwease?" Fred begged.

"Pretty please with Canary Cream whip -cee in a circle, us- on top?" George asked. Ron looked at his brothers then at the liquid and made his decision.

"Give me fifty percent of the money you make PLUS a month's supply of chocolate frogs and you got yourself a deal"

"Fifty percent? A MONTH'S supply?" Fred and George protested.

"Fine, ten percent. But I still want those frogs"

Fred and George looked at each other sadly.

"Kids nowadays. Always asking for stuff. Can't ever be content with what they have… It's so sad…"

"Do you want me to drink it or not?" Ron asked.

"Here!" they chorused and thrust the flask into Ron's hands. Some of the liquid sloshed onto his palm. It was ice-cold.

_What am I doing? I'm risking my life! What if it doesn't work…_

_But what if it DOES work? I can become Veronica… Draco will like me then… then I can explain to him, tell him the truth… maybe…_

_Geez this stuff is cold. What if it goes down the wrong tube? What if it clogged up my lungs… or my heart… or something…_

"Oy! Are you drinking it, or not?"

_Here goes._

Ron tilted his head back and drank. For a split second he felt nothing. Then the ice-cold chill ripped through his throat, down into his stomach. He could feel it coursing in his blood, freezing, painful. Then it stopped.

_Phew._

He yelled as he felt his heart suddenly tear apart. Then he fainted. 

Draco got up, troubled and tired. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep, and those had been filled with strange (and somewhat disturbing) dreams of dancing red blobs. He stumbled groggily to the bathroom and splashed water on his face then looked at himself in the mirror.

"Urgh" he said, staring distastefully at the mess in front of him. He looked for his wand so that he could perform the spell to right the messy blonde bush that was his hair. He remembered he left it outside, on his bedside table.

"Double urgh" he said. He turned on the tap and wet his hairbrush, then proceeded to brush his hair down slowly until it was flat, looking almost like how it was before, when he used to gel it. When he was done he changed into a fresh pair of clothes, picked up his Transfiguration books and headed drowsily out.

Ron woke up, his stomach churning. He sat up and instinctively turned his head as he felt the bile rise up his throat. He spewed violently onto the floor. He coughed, shaken, and attempted to stand up. Instantly he felt that something was different. Something about his body weight, his center of gravity… He stood up slowly and walked unsteadily to his mirror. A familiar face stared back at him. A familiar face with long, wavy red hair.

_It worked!_ Ron thought joyfully. His stomach lurched again and he moaned in pain. 

_Why does my stomach hurt so much?_

He looked at the clock and yelped. Transfiguration! He couldn't go looking like a girl!

"I have to know the word to change me back… Fred! George!" he yelled. No one answered. He looked around. The room was empty.

"Fred? George? Fred? C'mon guys, this isn't funny… I gotta go to Transfiguration; McGonagall's going to kill me if I'm late… guys? George?" he called, feeling a sense of doom. He walked quickly around the room.

"Fred! George! Where the hell are you?" he shouted. He suddenly saw something on his bedside table. He picked it up. It was a piece of parchment. He read it, trying to decipher his brothers' messy scrawl.

"Ron, sorry but you weren't waking up and we have class, Seeya later, Gred and Forge" Ron read, hands trembling. He put the paper down slowly and looked at his new self in the mirror.

"I am SO screwed," he said.

"Mr. Malfoy, DO try to stay awake, my class hasn't even started yet…" Professor McGonagall said, rapping her hand on Draco's desk. His eyes snapped open.

"I am awake," he said in a robot-like drone. McGonagall raised her eyebrows.

"I see. Try to get more sleep tonight please"

"I will" Draco promised in his drone, more to himself than to the professor. The door suddenly slammed open.

"Sorry I'm late!" a muffled feminine voice called. Draco turned and stared. Whoever she was, she was WEIRD.

The person wore a balaclava and a huge, thick baggy pair of robes that dragged on the floor. 

And it was summer.

McGonagall was obviously startled as well.

"Uh… that's all right, take a seat please…" she said somewhat shakily. The person looked around for an empty seat. Draco looked around and realized the only empty seat was next to him. It seemed as the person realized it too, as whomever it was walked unsteadily towards him and sat down rather clumsily in the chair. Draco shuffled away slightly.

"All right then, is that everyone? Good. Today we're going to do the hardest type of Transfiguration of all… we're going to try and change our own normal body structure to one of an animal"

_Yeesh, talk about changing body structure…_ Ron thought, sweating. He almost couldn't stand the heat. The balaclava was made of cheap wool knitted by his mother and scratched at his face. He half wished he could rip his skin off.

_Just you WAIT until I find you guys, Fred, George,_ he thought. _You two are SO going to DIE._

He turned his head to look at the blonde sitting next to him.

_Great. I'm actually sitting next to him._

_I really, REALLY want to scratch my face off. Maybe if I do Madame Pomfrey can fix it later or something…_

Draco was considerably alarmed when the person next to him kept making movements as if to scratch their face off.

"The first thing to do is pick an animal, any animal that you want to be. Choose wisely, as the animal you choose will be the one that you will transfigure into in the future. There is no such thing as choosing to be an animal, for example, a bear today then choosing to be a dog another day" McGonagall said.

_Yeah. Animal. Sure. Whatever_, Draco thought sleepily.

_Gahhhh so ITCHY! So HOT!_ thought Ron, aggravated.

"This is very difficult and only a few can successfully transfigure so I do not expect you to be able to change into an animal today. We will be having a few more lessons on this though, and that will be all. Afterwards, if you do manage to successfully become an Animagus –someone who can change into an animal- you will have to put your name down yourself in the records. First thing I would like you to do is get yourself a partner… the person sitting next to you will do… and choose an animal. When you are both decided, one of you stand up. Make this motion," McGonagall waved her wand in the air, "and say 'Transfigurus'. While you do it, have the image of the animal clearly in your mind. Do NOT think of anything else. Any questions?"

Hermione stuck her hand up. "Professor, if you HAVE to say 'Tranfigurus' every time you want to transfigure, how is it that you can change into a cat without saying it?"

"After you get good at it the changing process somehow uh… gets into your system. It's like having another set of DNA, I suppose. All you have to do is imagine the animal" McGonagall demonstrated and morphed into a cat then back "and there you are. For starters though you should use Transfigurus, because it's a lot safer and it gives time for the DNA to get in. Any more questions?" she looked around. "No? All right then! If you have any questions or need help, just ask."

Draco turned slowly to face his partner.

"So. What do you want to be," he asked monotonously.

"Huh? Oh… uh… dunno" Ron said, flushing under his balaclava as he remembered where he was and who he was actually sitting next to.

"Wonderful" Draco said drowsily. 

"What do YOU want to be?" Ron asked, interested.

"Asleep" Draco answered.

Ron snorted. "Well, that was very honest"

Draco stared curiously at the person. She… or he… seemed familiar.

"Uh…" Ron said, embarrassed, feeling Draco's piercing gray-blue eyes spear holes in his face. 

_Thank gawd he can't see my face_, Ron thought.

Draco looked away.

"I think snake is good. Or some sort of bird. Eagle. Eagle's good" he said.

"What? Oh! Yeah, eagle's pretty cool… snake's not so great though, I mean can you imagine all that slithering around on your belly?"

"So what do you want to be?" asked Draco, resting his forearms on the table.

"Me… I dunno. I'd like to be something fast. Maybe a cheetah. Or maybe a fox? Or tiger?"

"Go for tiger" Draco yawned.

"Okay… do you want to go first or shall I?"

"Whatever. I'll go first," Draco said. He stood up slowly and blinked then shook his head. He took out his wand.

"Transfigurus" he murmured, making smooth, rapid movements. There was a second where Ron could see Draco's body change shape; his arms turn dirt brown, his hair flatten and wrap into his face, his nose and mouth elongate, his arms and legs shorten and his eyes change from blue to gold. The next second, where Draco once stood flapped a great bald eagle, trying to balance uneasily with its talons. It screeched once and Draco reappeared.

Ron was amazed at how easily Draco changed into his Animagus form.

"Very well done Mr. Malfoy!" McGonagall commented from her desk.

"Mm. Thank you" he said then sat back in his chair. He put his forearms down and rested his head on them to watch his partner. Ron stood nervously up.

"T… Trans…" he stammered. For some reason he couldn't do it. Somehow he just knew… it wasn't right… he shouldn't do it…

"Transfigurus!" he said, copying the wand movements. He felt his bones move and change shape, could see his vision changing to a fox's… then…

"Ahhhhh!" he yelled in pain, writhing on the floor as searing hot pain ripped through his body. Harry and Hermione were at his side immediately.

"You all right?" they asked.

_What a bloody stupid question_, Ron thought, but responded with a loud scream.

"Professor, can we take him… her… to the Infirmary?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, go, quick!" McGonagall said worriedly. Taking one arm each, Harry and Hermione supported Ron's weight on their shoulders and helped his walk out of the room. Once outside, Hermione eased off Ron's balaclava gently.

"There now, we'll take this off first, must be really hot in…" she stopped.

"What… is…" Ron gasped, beads of sweat gathering on his forehead.

"Oh gawd… Ron?" Harry asked. "What the hell happened?"

Ron couldn't reply. He bent over and started coughing.

"Ron? Omigod… Hermione!"

"I know I know!" Hermione said hurriedly. She grabbed Ron's arms again, but he wrenched himself away from her. Ron coughed as he felt ice chill and intense heat flash in his body, so closely after one another it was as if he was hot and cold at the same time. He felt his body changing shape as he passed out onto the floor.

"Ron? Ron, are you all right?" Hermione asked anxiously as Ron opened his eyes.

"Hermione, let him breathe please…" Madam Pomfrey said, pushing the girl back a bit. She turned her attention to Ron.

"There now, try to sit up… good. Here, drink this, and when you're done you can have some chocolate" she said, handing a warm cup and a slab of chocolate to the woozy Ron. Ron sipped the liquid and immediately felt better as a warm, sugary lemon flavor filled his mouth. He put the chocolate on the table next to the bed and sipped the lemony drink again. Hermione and Harry waited patiently for Pomfrey to exit the room. Once she closed the door, they pounced.

"Ron, what happened?"

"How're you feeling?"

"Huh?" Ron asked.

"Okay, okay… what happened?" Hermione asked.

"What happened? Uh… I dunno? Why?"

"You looked… well…" Hermione started.

"Awful. Like a cross between some red furry animal with big ears and…"

"Yourself. Veronica" Hermione finished, staring pointedly at Ron who looked down at himself. He looked normal now.

"Oh"

"Please explain why you looked like Veronica?" Harry said.

"Oh… uh…"

"Ron" Hermione said in a warning tone.

Ron sighed. "I agreed to try a batch that Fred and George made. Apparently one word and you can change from male to female, just like that"

Hermione and Harry gaped. 

"Do you have any idea how DANGEROUS that was, Ron?" Hermione shrieked.

"I may have had some small notion that it was, yes," Ron said sarcastically. He put down the cup and started nibbling on the chocolate.

"You could have been killed!"

"You don't say"

"Stop being so sarcastic and be SERIOUS. You KNEW it was dangerous, you KNEW you could have DIED. WHY did you take the thing anyway?" Hermione said angrily.

Draco's face flashed in Ron's vision and he shook his head slightly. He hopped off the bed, landing uneasily on his feet. 

"Well?" Hermione demanded.

"You… I…" Ron looked at his best friends' expectant faces. The best friends who loved each other; the best friends whose lives were absolutely perfect in every way.

"Forget it. You just wouldn't understand," he said.

"What wouldn't we understand? C'mon Ron, we're your friends, you can tell us anything"

"Oh yeah, you two, both with your own perfect lives. SURE you'll understand me. Just FORGET IT, all right?" Ron said angrily and pushed past a rather hurt Hermione. He stormed back to the Gryffindor tower, back to his room and punched his pillow in fury.

About two hours later Ron was lying on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling when Fred and George made their appearance.

"Ron!" they yelled, banging open his door. Ron jumped.

"You two!" he said irritably.

"So sorry bro, we had to go to class… you understand?"

"No, I do NOT understand. I had to go to class. As a FEMALE. Because YOU didn't tell me what the word was"

"Sorry…"

"So, are you going to tell me the word, or what?"

The twins grinned. 

"Change" they said in unison.

"What? 'Transfiguro'? Isn't that kinda similar to Transfigurus? Does it really work, or are you just kidding?"

"You doubt us?"

"To be frank, yes"

"Try it then!"

"Fine… transfiguro" Ron said, feeling a bit stupid. He heard a rustling and cracking noise and felt his body change. Fred and George looked delighted.

"Success!" they said and exchanged high-fives. Ron felt his face, looked at his long hair.

"How do I turn back?" he asked.

"Just say the word again"

"Transfiguro" Ron said and turned back into his normal self.

"So, are we geniuses, or what?" Fred asked proudly. Ron walked to the door silently, slightly shaken, and placed his hand on the doorknob. He opened the door and paused then turned back and grinned at his brothers.

"Or what" he said and left.

Ron looked out at the scenery from the Astronomy Tower.

_I can change into Veronica now. I can change into Veronica now. Oh gawd…_

Ron sighed.

_Do I tell Draco?_

_No. I shouldn't._

_Yes._

_No._

_Yes._

_No._

_Urghhhh…_

Ron was so deep in thought he didn't hear anyone walk up until he noticed a pair of arms next to his.

"Hey"

Ron spun and his heart skipped a beat.

_Speak of the devil…_

"Hi" he said casually. 

"You skipped Transfiguration class" Draco said matter of factly.

"I did? Oh, yeah, well, I was uh… not feeling well"

"Someone took your place. Some weird person"

"Oh. Really?"

"Yeah"

The two stood in silence.

"So… what you doing in Transfiguration?" Ron asked.

"Eh. Easy stuff. Changing form"

"That's easy?"

"That's hard?"

"Well I'm TOLD it's hard…"

Draco scowled. "Feh. Easy. Even YOU would be able to do it"

"Gee, thanks, I think"

Draco smirked to himself then looked away.

_He's so beautiful, I should just tell him, he'll understand… right? Right?_ Ron thought.

_What is my problem… I'm actually talking to Weasley… But he's so… no he's not! How did that thought get in there? I HATE Weasley; he is just a stupid git and someone to talk to, that is all. No it's not… arghhh why am I even THINKING like this?_ Draco wondered, frowning.

_I'm going for it_, Ron decided.

"Uh… Draco?" he asked timidly. Draco whirled around; startled by the fact that Ron called him 'Draco', not Malfoy.

"What?"

"I have uh… something to say"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Obviously"

"No, it's more of a… confession"

Draco tensed. "Confession?"

"Yeah… I know I should have told you a long time ago but I was just scared of what you would think and…" Ron trailed off.

"What is it?" Draco asked, a little nervously.

"I… Veronica… she… I…" 

"What about Veronica?" Draco asked. _Oh gawd, please don't let her be hurt, please let her be okay… is that what Weasley wanted to tell me? Maybe he didn't tell me earlier because he hates me?_

"Is she okay?" he asked. Ron looked uncomfortable.

"Well uh… the thing about her is she's…" Ron halted, unsure what to say next.

"She's WHAT? Tell me!"

"I…"

"Weasley!"

Ron sighed and took in a deep breath.

"Please don't hate me for this" he murmured. He closed his eyes and said the word.

"Transfiguro"


	3. Veronica

A/N: A few strong words used here. Just had to say that. Most of this chapter is mush and therefore I have made it short-ish so you don't have to suffer. I'll try write more for the next chapter, promise. ;)

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Ms. Rowling.

Draco stared.

A pale-faced Veronica Weasley stared back.

There was a tense silence.

"You… you…" Draco stammered.

"I know I should have told you earlier, I'm really sorry…"

"Damn right you should be sorry!" Draco yelled furiously, his cheeks turning red in anger. "What the hell did you think you were playing at? I suppose you thought it was funny, didn't you?"

"No! I-"

"Like hell you didn't" Draco sneered. "Gawd, I should have known. It was just a game wasn't it? Just one little game!"

"Draco, it wasn't-" Ron started.

"Don't call me Draco!" Draco shouted. "I should have KNOWN it! You Weasleys… you damned Muggle lovers… you all think EVERYTHING'S a game, don't you? You and those faggot brothers of yours… and you DARED to ask me last night how I felt about…" Draco trailed off.

"I wanted to tell you, but I thought you'd be mad, can't you see that?" Ron asked, his voice rising angrily.

"Well good, you thought right, didn't you? How could I have been so stupid… I TRUSTED you damn it! I thought you were different. My father was right, you Weasleys are nothing but a Muggle-loving, cheap, poor-"

"Shut up!" Ron yelled, his eyes filling with tears.

"Stupid, using, lying, pathetic bunch of fag-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Ron screamed.

"Or what, WEASLEY? You'll put a curse on me? I'm SO scared"

"You think I did it for fun? Gawd Malfoy, I didn't even WANT to be Veronica, at first. You want to know the truth? My brother MADE me eat a cake that had the potion in it. I never wanted to be female, but what choice did I have afterwards? I had to WAIT for the thing to wear off. And if I correctly recall, YOU came after ME, so quit blaming me!"

"You didn't tell me" Draco said through clenched teeth. "You didn't tell me. You just kept parading around, enjoying yourself. Did you enjoy it, huh? Pretending to be someone you weren't, LYING to everyone? I actually KISSED you and you STILL didn't tell me!" 

Draco glared at Ron with the utmost hatred and disgust in his eyes. "You pathetic, sick faggot. Don't you DARE tell me not to blame you"

"Oh, I suppose it's all MY fault then? You know what's your problem? You always think you're so damned perfect. You think your family's the best, so rich, so powerful. You know what the REST of the world think of you? Selfish, greedy, snobbish, lying, cheating, dictating shoe-polishers for You-Know-Who, parading around with this high and mighty name and lots of money, but you know what? You're all just one big lie, you're all just… just HOUSE ELVES to your beloved Dark Lord" Ron sneered.

Draco hit him, punched him as hard as he could on the cheek.

"Say that again, and I will kill you" the blonde seethed. Ron at Draco, shocked at what he had just said.

"Omigod… Draco, I didn't mean to…"

Draco hit him again, sending him to the floor.

"Don't you EVER talk to me again. Don't even LOOK at me. Ever. Understand?" he said threateningly. He turned and walked to the stairs. Ron watched him leave helplessly then covered his face and cried.

Draco stormed down the corridor, furious at both himself and at Ron.

How DARE he? How dare that… that FAGGOT say that about MY family? How COULD he just have gone on with the whole thing and NOT TOLD ME? That… that ASSHOLE. And I BELIEVED him. Gawd, I actually l… no, I NEVER did.

He looked up as he reached the entrance of the Slytherin dorm in surprise.

"Father? Dumbledore?" he asked questioningly. Dumbledore looked at him grimly.

"About time you turned up. Hurry, we have to go" Lucius Malfoy snapped.

"What are you doing-"

Draco's sentence was cut off as his father roughly grabbed his arm and dragged him back down the corridor, Dumbledore not far behind.

Ron sat in the Astronomy Tower silently, arms wrapped around his knees which were drawn up to his chest. He had changed back into himself again. Dried tear marks were streaked on his face and his cheek was turning an ugly purplish-black. He stared out into the night sky and shivered. He was cold.

I can't believe I really said that to him… Oh gawd, what have I done… I just ruined EVERYTHING. 

Ron sighed, his heart hurting.

Like I always do, I guess. I ALWAYS ruin everything. Me and my stupid temper and my stupid big mouth… Why can't things go RIGHT, for once? Why is everything I do WRONG? I HATE myself…

He put his head down on his forearms, deep in thought. He didn't hear Draco's panicked voice or Lucius' shouting as they went out of school and disapparated.

"Ron?"

Ron lifted his head to the sound of a soft, concerned voice. Hermione knelt down beside him and touched his arm.

"Oh Ron, you're so cold, why didn't you come in? It's so late… we were so worried. We didn't know where on earth you were… here, put this on" she said, placing his maroon sweater around his shoulders. Ron put the sweater on numbly.

"Come on now, let's go in… I'll make you a cup of hot chocolate" Hermione said. Obediently, Ron got up and followed Hermione in. Once inside the castle again he saw Harry run over.

"Hermione! You found him… thank GOODNESS… where was he?"

"Astronomy Tower"

"What? For how long? It's so cold at night, what were you doing there Ron? We were so worried… do you have any idea what time it is now?"

Ron stared blankly ahead.

"Ron? RON?" Harry said, worried. He looked at his friend and gasped. He touched Ron's cheek lightly.

"You're bruised… what happened…?"

"Let's just get him back first Harry…" Hermione said.

"Yeah, okay… I'll get a spare blanket" Harry said and ran off. Hermione took Ron's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Come on now Ron… let's go back to the dorm, okay? I'll make a nice cup of hot chocolate, you can sit in front of the fire, Harry'll get a nice, warm blanket, then you can tell us what's wrong, okay? Just, please, don't ever stay out in the Astronomy Tower so late again, all right? It's cold, and we start to get worried…" Hermione faltered then smiled warmly. "I know we seem like we're being really nosy, its none of our business, and we may not understand exactly how you feel, but just remember that we're your friends, okay? We're BEST friends, and we stick up for each other and help each other, so if you need anything, just say so… me and Harry, we'll ALWAYS be there for you. Okay, Ron?"

Hermione was considerably startled when Ron burst into tears, ran into her arms and sobbed on her shoulder.

"Feeling better now?" Harry asked, a little awkwardly. Ron nodded as he slowly sipped a sweet mouthful of hot chocolate.

"Want to tell me what that was all about?"

Ron stared into his hot chocolate. He slowly shook his head. Harry sighed.

"Okay, fine, I'm not going to force you… just say something though, please? You've been silent for the past half hour"

Ron managed a weak smile. "I'm okay. Thanks Harry"

Hermione walked out of the bathroom, having changed her now damp shirt to a dry one.

"Thanks Hermione… and sorry about your shirt…"

"It's okay. Feeling better?"

"Mmm"

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No"

Harry and Hermione exchanged glances. 

"Okay then…" Hermione said. They sat in silence listening to the crackle of the fire. Ron got up.

"I'm going to go to bed… okay?" he asked.

"Sure, go ahead" Hermione said softly. Ron walked away quietly. Hermione looked worriedly at Harry.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" she asked.

The next day crawled by slowly. The change of mood was apparent in Ron. He didn't look at anyone, didn't smile, didn't talk; just walked by staring at the floor with a glazed look in his eyes. He skipped all his classes and seemed exactly as if he was in another dimension. After countless efforts by Hermione to 'bring him back' by asking nicely and being as supportive and gentle as she could Harry had finally lost his temper.

After dinner just outside the Great Hall Harry grabbed his friend by the shoulders.

"Okay Ron, this has gone far enough. You can't go on like this forever. At least you have to eat, you just sat there like a bloody zombie. Now, I don't care whether or not you tell me what's been going on with you, but I do care that you're acting like you're dead"

Ron looked at his feet and for the first time that day spoke. "You do?" he asked, his tone flat, his voice half sarcastic half hopeful. Harry shook Ron hard.

"Of course I do! You're my FRIEND. You think I LIKE watching my friend look so lost? HELL no! Whatever it is, get OVER it! It can't be THAT bad!"

Ron looked at his friend in the eyes and Harry was startled by the amount of raw emotion bubbling in those emerald green orbs.

"You don't know how I feel," Ron said simply. Then he broke out of Harry's grasp and ran away.

Ginny knocked on the door tentatively.

"Can I come in?" she asked. There was a silence then a resigned "Yes". Ginny walked in quietly and shut the door. She saw her brother lying on his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling and sat down next to him.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah" Ron replied.

"Because um, you've been a bit… well, not like yourself today…"

"Why do you care?" Ron asked suspiciously. It wasn't like Ginny to come in and talk to him. Sure she was his sister, sure she was a sweet young girl, but they hardly ever talked except when Ron was playing a prank on her. Ginny looked indignant.

"Because I'm your sister and I'm worried!" Ginny said. Ron turned his head, glanced at her, then continued staring at the ceiling.

"Hermione told you to come in, didn't she" Ron said. A statement, not a question. Ginny flushed. Ron sighed.

"I am FINE. Why can't people just leave me alone?" he asked. 

"Maybe because they love you –as a friend, brother, whatever…- and they don't like to see you hurt?" Ginny said. Ron snorted.

"They love me. Yeah."

Ginny looked at her brother. "We're siblings Ron. I love you. Bill loves you, Charlie loves you, Fred and George love you… in their own strange way… and Percy loves you… I think…"

Ron's mouth quirked up slightly. "Thank you ever so Ginny, I feel so much better now"

"See? You're smiling! Things can't be that bad now… can they?" Ginny said cheerfully. Ron's smile disappeared.

"Gin, promise me, NONE of this leaves the room, understand?" he said, his voice firm and serious.

"I understand" Ginny said. Ron looked uncertain.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I understand if you don't trust me…"

"No, it's okay, I figure I've got to tell someone soon… Well it's just… I like someone"

"That doesn't sound so bad…" Ginny said.

"No, it's more like I… I love someone… but I was too afraid to tell that person because I thought that the person would hate me…" Ron said, his voice starting to break. Ginny leaned over and stroked her brother's hair gently. It seemed to calm him.

"One day I decided to tell the person… and… and…"

"Was that what you were doing last night?" Ginny asked softly.

"Yes" Ron said, gulping back tears.

"And the person…"

"Now hates me," Ron said, a tear rolling down his cheek. Ginny brushed it away with her finger and continued to stroke his hair, occasionally running her fingers through it reassuringly.

"Oh don't say that Ron…"

"The thing is… the person liked me before… when I wasn't… when I was…" Ron trailed off, trying desperately to keep his tears in check. Ginny noticed that.

"It's okay to cry Ron…" she said consolingly. "And how can you say that the person hates you, if she liked you before? If she liked you before, it's not likely that it's all suddenly going to go to hate"

Ron looked uncomfortable. "That's the thing Gin… the person's not a 'she'…"

Please Gin, don't freak on me, please don't… Ron begged silently. I've told you so much that I wouldn't have said to anyone else already, please don't freak out…

Ginny's mouth opened in shock then, seeing her brother's pleading face, closed.

"So you like… a guy…" she said. Ron just looked at her.

"Okay… and he is…"

"Remember my 'date' to the last Yule Ball?"

Ginny's face went from blank to shocked to horrified. 

"MALFOY?" she squeaked. Ron inclined his head slightly. Ginny looked amazed.

"Malfoy, Malfoy… wasn't that when…?"

"Yeah. When I was 'Veronica'"

"But I thought when you liked Malfoy then it was only a side effect of the potion… Uh, you still don't like uh… guys… as in other guys… right?"

Ron blinked. "No, not other guys… just him…"

Ginny looked visibly relieved. "Wow… when I thought we hid secrets from each other I didn't think a secret like this…"

Ron's mouth quirked. "Even if we didn't share secrets you wouldn't have expected something like this"

"That's a good… hold on, MALFOY?"

Ron looked puzzled. "I thought you got that part already"

"Malfoy… oh no… oh that is NOT a good thing"

"What? What's not a good thing?"

Ginny stared. "Didn't you know? Malfoy's not at school anymore!"

Ron jerked up. "WHAT?"

"His dad came last night and took him back home… oh! Sorry, of course you didn't know, you were… but didn't you notice today… oh, right, I forgot…" Ginny trailed off, flushing slightly.

"Took him back home? Why?" Ron asked, ignoring the last part of Ginny's sentence. The door suddenly slammed open. A terrified Dobby stood in the doorway.

"Master Wheezy must tell Harry Potter to go home sir! Harry Potter must be safe!"

"Safe? What do you mean 'safe'? Dobby?"

Harry appeared from behind the house elf.

"Take a guess," he said grimly.


End file.
